DUNEDIN -- Mitt Romney appeared before a vast crowd packed into downtown Dunedin this afternoon full of confidence. "With a turnout like this I’m beginning to feel we might win tomorrow, what do you think?" he said.

Romney is pulling away from Newt Gingrich, polls show, but he went at his rival from the outset. "I know the speaker's not real happy. Speaker Gingrich. He’s not feeling very excited these days. I know, it’s sad. He’s been flailing around, trying to go after me for one thing or another. You just watch him and you shake your head. He’s been kind of painfully revealing to watch. I think the reason he isn't doing so well is because of those last two debates."

It was a carbon copy of what he told crowds yesterday, leaving out the millions in attack ads that have helped tamp down Gingrich's rise.

In most ways, though, the candidates are offering the same message and the same prescriptions for fixing the economy. Romney derided President Obama repeatedly as naive and unprepared. "I think he is inspired by the social Democrats of Europe and he would change American into an entitlement society."

Romney said his goal was not to "fundamentally transform" the country. "I want to instead to restore the principles that made America the hope of the earth."

Blog Search

About the blog

For Florida political news today, the Buzz is your can't-miss-it source. Tampa Bay Times writers offer the latest in Florida politics, the Florida Legislature and the Rick Scott administration. Keep in mind: This is a public forum sponsored and maintained by the Tampa Bay Times. When you post comments here, what you say becomes public and could appear in the newspaper. You are not engaging in private communication with candidates or Times staffers.